Dr. Susan Frazier-Kouassi
PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas (February 19, 2020) – Susan Frazier-Kouassi, Ph.D., director of the Texas Juvenile Crime Prevention Center (TJCPC), under Prairie View A&M University’s College of Juvenile Justice, is in Uganda this week. She’s been asked to deliver lectures at the Mbarara University Research Training Initiative (MURTI)’s research symposium.
She’ll give both a keynote speech for the symposium as well as a public lecture. Her keynote on Feb. 20, titled “Mentoring Matters! Innovative Approaches for Junior Faculty,” is targeted towards new faculty as they begin their careers. Frazier-Kouassi’s public lecture, “Critical Condition: Youth in the Juvenile Justice System,” takes place Feb. 19 and focuses on her research and work at PVAMU.
“[This trip is significant because of] the possibility of creating an international, collaborative partnership with Mbarara University of Science and Technology in the area of research and development, and youth crime and crime prevention,” Frazier-Kouassi said.
She stated that one of the pressing issues in the U.S. related to juveniles is the ‘school-to-prison pipeline,’ a problem rooted in the historical and contemporary forces in our country. During this trip, she’s hoping to explore opportunities to collaborate with MURTI and other institutions on this and other topics. It would mean an opportunity for PVAMU to expand its research partnerships, as well as creating internships, visiting scholar programs, and other academic opportunities.
Frazier-Kouassi was invited to take part in the event by a former colleague of hers, Edith Wakida, whom she met at the University of Michigan School of Public Health, where Frazier-Kouassi worked as a project and program manager prior to joining PVAMU. Wakida is the research administration manager in the Office of Research Administration at Mbarara University of Science and Technology (MUST).
The symposium’s theme is “Mentoring as a catalyst for the next generation of researchers in NCDs and HIV in Africa.” It’s part of a five-year grant, now in its final year of implementation, aimed at building research capacity for junior faculty at MUST to conduct public-sector research focused on rural health priorities. The week-long symposium examines topics such as HIV prevention and treatment, particularly in rural southwestern Uganda; cardiovascular diseases in rural populations; mental health disorders in rural Uganda; neurology in HIV and cardiovascular disease, and mental health and neuro-radiology in rural populations; and research administration, research ethics, and research communication capacities necessary to succeed as the next generation of independent investigators in Uganda.
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By Holly Beretto